This invention relates to a cutting tool composed of a plurality of titanium alloys. More particularly, this invention relates to a cutting tool made of titanium alloys, in which the chemical composition of the blade base is different from the chemical composition of the blade edge. Also more particularly, this invention relates to a cutting tool intended for domestic use, such as kitchen knives, scissors and the like, which can be manufactured at a low cost.
Regardless of whether intended for professional or for non-professional use, a primary concern for a cutting tool is the sharpness of the cutting blade. Consequently, forged cutting blades of special steels containing, for example, manganese, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum or the like are preferred for cutting tools. However, cutting tools made of these forged special steels are often expensive, and are therefore unpopular for domestic or nonprofessional use. In addition, cutting tools intended for domestic use tend to rust from lack of care. Therefore, they are often made of stainless steel containing large amounts of nickel and chromium. However, cutting tools made of stainless steel tend to dull more readily.
Recently, titanium alloys are drawing increasing attention for use as a raw material for cutting tools. Titanium does not rust and, because it has a low specific gravity, cutting tools made from titanium are lightweight. Additionally, by employing titanium alloys which include aluminum, vanadium or the like, a substance having very high hardness can be obtained. As a result, the quality of cutting tools made of such a very hard material is excellent. However, such alloys often are expensive, and cutting tools manufactured from such alloys and intended for domestic use have little marketability where the production cost of the raw material is high.